Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queenstown and Honiara

For one person, living is cheaper in Honiara: $1,742 a month against $2,380 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
Learn more

Queenstown Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
Learn more

Honiara Living Index

Jump to prices

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,380

/mo nomad

Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,742

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Queenstown and in Honiara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Queenstown and in Honiara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,380 per month in Queenstown vs $1,742 in Honiara, rent included.

Queenstown $2,380
Honiara $1,742

A couple spends around $3,738 per month in Queenstown vs $2,873 in Honiara, rent included.

Queenstown $3,738
Honiara $2,873

A family of three spends $5,096 per month in Queenstown vs $4,004 in Honiara, rent included.

Queenstown $5,096
Honiara $4,004

Queenstown costs about 37% more than Honiara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Queenstown and Honiara sit above the global median – Queenstown by 78%, Honiara by 30%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.19 NZ$25.28

$6.66 SBD 53.8

113.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.4 NZ$109

$62.8 SBD 507

-2.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 NZ$16.38

$12.53 SBD 101

-26.66%

Cappuccino

$3.13 NZ$5.57

$3.48 SBD 28.14

-10.06%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 NZ$3.61

$1.60 SBD 12.89

26.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 NZ$3.57

$1.05 SBD 8.49

90.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.80 NZ$12.11

$2.42 SBD 19.58

180.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 NZ$11.16

$5.70 SBD 46.04

9.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 NZ$3.82

$2.57 SBD 20.75

-16.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 NZ$3.46

$1.49 SBD 12.00

30.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 NZ$3.04

$1.64 SBD 13.28

4.27%

Eggs

$5.67 NZ$10.10

$5.48 SBD 44.27

3.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.10 NZ$14.43

$6.61 SBD 53.4

22.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NZ$17.62

$8.34 SBD 67.4

18.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.72 NZ$28.02

$15.18 SBD 123

3.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 NZ$5.11

$6.39 SBD 51.6

-55.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 NZ$4.01

$2.70 SBD 21.83

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 NZ$6.55

$8.70 SBD 70.2

-57.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.27 NZ$9.38

$3.67 SBD 29.62

43.60%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 NZ$6.08

$1.99 SBD 16.09

71.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.28

$3.47 SBD 28.01

-46.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 NZ$4.18

$1.40 SBD 11.30

67.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 NZ$3.37

$1.03 SBD 8.36

83.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.36 NZ$48.75

$4.26 SBD 34.39

542.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.90 NZ$15.85

$10.37 SBD 83.7

-14.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.44 NZ$7.91

$1.69 SBD 13.67

162.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.40 NZ$11.40

$3.47 SBD 28.00

84.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.44 NZ$2.56

$0.39 SBD 3.12

269.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 NZ$212

$25.14 SBD 203

373.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 NZ$4.61

$1.27 SBD 10.28

103.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 NZ$3.32

$1.20 SBD 9.72

55.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.12 NZ$51.9

$12.60 SBD 102

131.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 NZ$3.06

$1.35 SBD 10.92

27.41%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.9K NZ$44.4K

$18.7K SBD 151.1K

33.17%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.2K NZ$41.4K

$34.1K SBD 275.7K

-31.94%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$112 NZ$199

$429 SBD 3,464

-73.93%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.02 NZ$49.93

$27.02 SBD 218

3.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 NZ$91.8

$89.0 SBD 719

-42.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.3 NZ$96.8

$36.76 SBD 297

47.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.80 NZ$47.75

$8.94 SBD 72.2

199.78%

Cinema Ticket

$10.41 NZ$18.54

$4.41 SBD 35.65

136.05%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$973 NZ$1,734

$100 SBD 811

868.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,592 NZ$13.5K

$2,898 SBD 23.4K

161.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.2 NZ$104

$27.71 SBD 224

110.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.11 NZ$80.4

$93.5 SBD 755

-51.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.3 NZ$161

$95.9 SBD 774

-5.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 NZ$242

$103 SBD 829

32.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,512 NZ$2,693

$870 SBD 7,024

73.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,270 NZ$2,263

$434 SBD 3,507

192.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 NZ$5,084

$1,851 SBD 14.9K

54.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,522 NZ$4,493

$1,398 SBD 11.3K

80.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,599 NZ$13.5K

$86.4K SBD 698.0K

-91.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,285 NZ$9,417

$62.1K SBD 501.2K

-91.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,052 NZ$5,438

$444 SBD 3,583

587.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.12

15.67

-60.94%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Queenstown: October 5, 2026

Last update for Honiara: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Queenstown

$1.3K 52.5%

Honiara

$434 25.3% 65.8% $836

Groceries & Markets

Queenstown

$359 14.8%

Honiara

$345 20.1% 4% $14

Eating Out

Queenstown

$241 10%

Honiara

$167 9.7% 30.8% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queenstown

$191 7.9%

Honiara

$545 31.8% 185% $354

Clothing & Footwear

Queenstown

$148 6.1%

Honiara

$144 8.4% 2.9% $4.4

Getting Around

Queenstown

$137 5.7%

Honiara

$34 2% 75.2% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Queenstown

$75 3.1%

Honiara

$46 2.7% 39.3% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,512 in Queenstown versus $870 in Honiara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 588% higher in Queenstown, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Queenstown versus $63.0 in Honiara. Groceries tell a different story – $359 in Queenstown vs $345 in Honiara – so Honiara wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🇸🇧 Honiara

🕒 Local time

16:32 4:32 PM

14:32 2:32 PM

2 h behind Queenstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,450

54,600 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.5 EUR).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Queenstown Honiara 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Queenstown
Honiara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Queenstown vs Honiara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,380 in Queenstown, $1,742 in Honiara – roughly 37% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,570 per month in Queenstown and $2,614 in Honiara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Honiara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 4% more in Queenstown, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Queenstown and $63.0 in Honiara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Honiara, where all-in costs run around $1,742, than in Queenstown at $2,380. In Honiara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Queenstown it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Queenstown has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,742 in Honiara to $2,380 in Queenstown. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Honiara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Queenstown makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.